 | |||||
| Pronunciation | [bɐkˈlaʔ] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Gender non-conformingmale,effeminategay man,third gender | ||||
| Definition | QueerAMAB | ||||
| Classification | Umbrella term | ||||
| Other terms | |||||
| Synonyms | Bayot,agi,bayogin | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| Culture | Filipino | ||||
| |||||
In thePhilippines, abaklâ (Tagalog andCebuano) (pronounced[bɐkˈlaʔ]),bayot (Cebuano) oragî (Hiligaynon) is a person who wasassigned male at birth and has adopted agender expression that isfeminine.[1] They are often considered athird gender.[2] Many bakla are exclusivelyattracted to men[3] and some identify as women.[4] The polar opposite of the term in Philippine culture istomboy (natively thelakin-on orbinalaki), which refers to women with amasculine gender expression (usually, but not always, lesbian).[5] The term is commonly incorrectly applied totrans women.[6]
Bakla are socially and economically integrated intoFilipino society, having been accepted by society prior to Western colonization, many of which were held in high regard and performed the role of spiritual leaders known asbabaylan,katalonan, and other shamans in theindigenous Philippine folk religions. In modern times, a minority group of Filipinos disapprove or reject the baklas, usually onreligious grounds allegedly from Christian or Muslim beliefs. The stereotype of a baklâ is aparlorista—a flamboyant,camp cross-dresser who works in a beauty salon; in reality, thebakla thrives in numerous sectors of society, from the lower to the upper levels.[7][8][9]
In modernFilipino andCebuano, the term "baklâ" is usually used to mean either "effeminate man" or "homosexual".[10][11] Martin F. Manalansan, a Filipino anthropologist, has identified two possible origins of the term. One is that it may have been aportmanteau of the wordsbabae ("woman"), andlalaki, meaning ("man"). The other is that it is derived from the word for the pre-colonialshamaness in most Filipino ethnic groups, thebabaylan.[12][13]
However, the word itself has been used for centuries, albeit in different contexts. InOld Tagalog,bacla meant "uncertainty" or "indecisiveness".[12] Effeminatehomosexual men were instead calledbinabaé ("like a woman") orbayogin (also spelledbayugin orbayoguin, "infertile"), during theSpanish colonial period.[14]
TheTagalog poetFrancisco Balagtas used the wordbacla in reference to "a temporary lack of resolve", as seen in his popular worksFlorante at Laura andOrosman at Zafira.[15] This archaic usage is also seen in the 17th-century Tagalog religiousepicCasaysayan nang Pasiong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin na Sucat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Sinomang Babasa ("Story of the Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord that Surely Shall Ignite the Heart of Whosoever Readeth"), which ischanted duringHoly Week. The passage narrating theAgony in the Garden has a verse that reads "Si Cristo'y nabacla" ("Christ was confused").[16]
By the advent ofWorld War II, the termbaklâ had evolved to mean "fearful" or "weakened" in Tagalog, and became a derogatory term for effeminate men.[15] A commoneuphemism forbaklâ during this period waspusong babae (literally "female-hearted"). It was not until the 1990s when more positive discourse on queer and gay identities became more mainstream thatbaklâ lost its original derogatory connotation.[12][17]
Other native terms for bakla also exist in otherlanguages of the Philippines, some of them now considered archaic. They are also calledbayot,binabáye,bayen-on (orbabayen-on), ordalopapa in Cebuano;agî inHiligaynon/Ilonggo;dampog orbayot inWaray;[18][19]bantut orbinabae inTausug;bantut ordnda-dnda inSinama;[20][21] andlabia inSubanen.[22]
In addition, there are numerous modernneologisms for bakla, especially withinswardspeak, with varying levels of acceptance. These include terms likebadáf,badíng,beki,judíng,shokì,shoklâ,sward, andvaklúsh, among many others.[23][24]
Baklâ is agender identity characterized by the adoption of afemininegender expression by men. This includes feminine mannerisms and speech, use of make-up,cross-dressing, and long hairstyles; all are referred to with the umbrella termkabaklaán (effeminacy). However,baklâ is not tied tosexuality and is not asexual orientation, thus it is not a direct equivalent of the English term "gay".Baklâ are usually homosexual men, but on rare occasions, they can also be heterosexual orbisexual men.[15][25][26][27]
Because the termbaklâ specifically denotes effeminacy, it is traditionally not applied to masculine gay men. However, due to increasingglobalization and influence from the Western categories ofsexual orientation,baklâ has become incorrectly equated with the gay identity and used generally for homosexual men, regardless of the individual'smasculinity or femininity in presentation.[15][17]
Baklâ are often considered the natural "third gender" in Filipino culture.[15][2] This is illustrated in the children's rhyme that begins by listing four distinct genders: "girl, boy,baklâ,tomboy."[17][27] Like in English, the termtomboy (archaiclakin-on orbinalaki) refers to masculine (usually lesbian) women, and is understood as the polar opposite of thebaklâ.[5]
Baklâ is also commonly used as a term fortrans women,[28] though this is incorrect and discouraged. This is largely due to the absence of modern local terms for transgender people, as well as the general public ignorance of the differences between homosexuality andtranssexuality. Some organizations have pushed for the adoption of new terminology that distinguishes transgender people from thebaklâ, to prevent the common derogatory misconception that trans women andtrans men are simplybaklâ andtomboy that have undergonesex reassignment surgery. One such proposal in 2008 by theSociety of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) istranspinay (for trans women) andtranspinoy (for trans men), both derived from the Filipinoendonym "pinoy". But it has yet to gain widespread acceptance.[29][30][6][31][32][33][34]
The difficulty of correlating definitions with western terminology is because of the fundamental difference in the cultural views on homosexuality.[9] According to Filipino academicJ. Neil Garcia, thebaklâ would fall under the inversion pattern of homosexuality identified by AmericanpsychobiologistJames D. Weinrich. This is the cultural view where homosexuality is seen as an inversion of thegender andsex binary. In Philippine context, this would be the binary of theloób (the inner self or spirit, lit. "inside") andlabás (the physical form, lit. "outside"). Thus it is similar to the South Asianhijra and theNative Americantwo-spirit. This is contrasted to the other two patterns of homosexuality worldwide, namely age-biased patterns (likepederasty inAncient Greece) and role-playing patterns (like in certain Middle Eastern and Latin American cultures).[15][35]
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Homosexual relations in both sexes were common and bore no stigma inpre-colonial Philippines. There are numerous accounts of feminized men in early Spanish records.[37] They were described as being dressed as women, worked in traditionally female roles, and were treated as women by the community. They were considered as comparable to biological women aside from their incapability to give birth to children.[38][39] They were even recorded as being married to men.[15][22][39] Some also married women, though this did not preclude homosexual relationships.[37] Generally, these effeminate men were known asbayog (alsobayok orbayogin; spelledbayoc orbayoquin in Spanish) inLuzon, andasog in theVisayas islands, both with meanings denoting "infertility" or "impotence".[40]
Due to their association to the feminine, they were regarded as having greater powers of intercession with theanito (ancestral and nature spirits) and thus commonly becameshamans (babaylan, a traditionally female role in Philippine cultures).[37] This is not unique to the Philippines and was also common in pre-colonial societies in the rest ofIsland Southeast Asia; like thebissu of theBugis people, thewarok of theJavanese people, and themanang bali of theIban people.[41]
Shamans were highly respected members of the community as ritual specialists: healing the sick, keepingoral histories, performing sorcery, and serving asspirit mediums for communicating with ancestral and nature spirits. They were second only to thenobility in the social hierarchy, and could function as a community's interim leader (similar to aregent orinterrex) in the absence of thedatu.[42][43][44]
InHistoria de las islas e indios de Bisayas (1668), the Spanish historian and missionaryFrancisco Ignacio Alcina records that theasog became shamans by virtue of being themselves. Unlike female shamans, they neither needed to be chosen nor did they undergo initiation rites. However, not allasog trained to become shamans.[15][22] Castano (1895) states that the people of Bicol would hold a thanksgiving ritual calledatang that was "presided" by an "effeminate" priest called anasog. His female counterpart, called abaliana, assisted him and led women in singing thesoraki in honor of Gugurang, the supreme deity of Bikol mythology.[45] Regardless, the majority of shamans in most Philippine precolonial cultures were female.[40]
During the three centuries ofSpanish colonization (1565–1898), theCatholic Church introduced harsh measures to suppress both female andasog shamans. In realms and polities absorbed by theSpanish Empire, shamans were maligned and falsely accused aswitches and "priests of the devil", and were persecuted violently by the Spanish clergy. The previously high status of thebabaylan was thus lost. The role of women and the relativegender egalitarianism of Philippine animistic cultures, in general, became more subdued under thepatriarchal culture of the Spanish.[46][47]
The most strongly affected by this religious shift toAbrahamic religions were the feminized maleasog shamans. During the 17th to 18th centuries, Spanish administrators in the Philippines burned people convicted of homosexual relations at the stake and confiscated their possessions, in accordance to a decree by the president of theReal Audiencia, Pedro Hurtado Desquibel. Several instances of such punishments were recorded by the Spanish priest Juan Francisco de San Antonio in hisChronicas de la Apostolica Provincia de San Gregorio (1738–1744).[15][48]
Asog shamans were leaders of several revolts against Spanish rule from the 17th century to the 18th century. Notable ones include theTamblot uprising ofBohol in 1621–1622 and theTapar rebellion inPanay in 1663.[49][50] Later rebellions in the 19th and 20th centuries were also led by male shamans. However, these later shamans (collectively known as thedios-dios, "god pretenders") followed syncreticFolk Catholicism, rather than pre-colonialanito shamanism. Though they still dressed as women in rituals, they were married to women and were unlikely to be homosexual.[37][51]
Feminized men were also persecuted harshly in the (then recently)Islamized ethnic groups inMindanao. InHistoria de las Islas de Mindanao, Iolo, y sus adyacentes (1667), the Spanish priestFrancisco Combés records that their "unnatural crime" was punished by the Muslim peoples in Mindanao with death by burning or drowning, and that their houses and property were also burned as they believed that it was contagious.[15]
This was followed byAmerican colonization (1898–1946), which though secular, introduced the idea that homosexuality and effeminacy was a "sickness".[17][52] Despite this, the colonization of the Philippines did not fully erase the traditional equivocal views of Filipinos with regards to queer and liminal sexual and gender identities. Though there are still problem areas, Filipino culture as a whole remains relatively accepting of non-heteronormative identities like thebaklâ.[17]
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Baklâ communities are renowned for staging beauty pageants,[7] withMiss Gay Philippines being national in scope. Participants model swimsuits, national costume, and dresses, and showcase their talents, as in female beauty pageants worldwide.
Baklâs have anargot, or secret language, calledswardspeak. It is used by both masculine and feminine baklâs and incorporates elements from Filipino,Philippine English andSpanish, spoken with a hyper-feminisedinflection.[7] It was widespread and popular until the 1990s, but is now considered unfashionable in most parts ofManila.[7] Modern versions of swardspeak are generally called "beki language", "gay lingo", or "gayspeak". They commonly make their way into mainstream Filipino culture. One early example is the song "Bongga Ka, 'Day" (1979), the biggesthit song of the FilipinoManila Sound bandHotdog. The title of the song means "You're fabulous, Girl" and uses the swardspeak slangbongga ( "fabulous").[54][55][56]
Heterosexual women who develop deep friendships or almost exclusively associate with the nativebakla LGBT subculture are known asbabaeng bakla (literally "a woman who is abakla"). They stereotypically acquire the mannerisms, campy sense of humor, lingo, and fashion sense of thebakla. They are also usually more extroverted and socially dominant. It is commonly perceived as a positive self-identification, and various prominent local celebrities (likeMaricel Soriano andRufa Mae Quinto) openly identify asbabaeng bakla.[57][58]
Sinceindependence, noncommercial, homosexual relations between two adults in private have never been criminalized in the Philippines, although sexual conduct or affection that occurs in public may be subject to the "grave scandal" prohibition in Article 200 of the Revised Penal Code (though this is applied to everyone, not only LGBTQ people).[59]
In December 2004, it was reported thatMarawi City had issued an ordinance banning bakla from going out in public wearing female attire, makeup, earrings "or other ornaments to express their inclinations for femininity". The ordinance passed by the Marawi City Council also bans skintight blue jeans, tube tops and other skimpy attire. Additionally, women (only) must not "induce impure thoughts or lustful desires." The Mayor said these moves were part of a "cleaning and cleansing" drive. The ordinance is possible because Marawi was part of theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (now theBangsamoro), which allows separate civil laws (based on theSharia) from the rest of the country, as long as they do not violate thePhilippine Constitution.[60]
Same-sex marriage is not recognised in the Philippines, preventing many homosexual men from getting married. Legislation attempting to legalise same-sex marriage in the Philippines has been presented toCongress, but none has passed thus far.[61]
The Philippines is predominantlyChristian, with over 80% of Filipinos belonging to theRoman Catholic Church.[62] Church doctrine officially tolerates persons with such orientations but condemns homosexual activity as "intrinsically disordered."[63] This condemnation of homosexuality presents a problem for baklâ because of potential discrimination in a Catholic-dominated society. As a result, baklâ youth in particular are at a higher risk for suicide, depression and substance abuse than their heterosexual peers, with risk increasing as parental acceptance decreases.[64]
While a significant minority, baklâ adherents ofProtestantism face varying degrees of acceptance based on the denomination to which they belong. ThePhilippine Independent Church, which is infull communion with the worldwideAnglican Communion, officially does not endorse homosexuality.[65] VariousEvangelical churches and theIglesia ni Cristo are morefundamentalist in doctrine, and thus strongly condemn homosexual acts and suppress such identities within their congregations.
Non-Christian Filipinos who professIslam,Buddhism,Hinduism and other faiths also present a wide range of doctrinal views.Islam, the second largest religion in the Philippines, comprises roughly 5.57% of the population.[66] Islam shares views with otherAbrahamic Faiths in that homosexual acts are held to be sinful.[21][67] According to the Delhi High Court, Hinduism does not officially condemn homosexuality.[68] As for Buddhism, the Dalai Lama (who is the most influential figure of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism) has maintained that homosexuality is "sexual misconduct" for Buddhist followers but does not condemn it for non-believers.[69]
The term includes individuals who identify as trans, non-binary, bisexual, etc. While most bakla are attracted to men, collectively referring to them as "gay" would be inaccurate as some self-identify as women.
"Also, another semantic space that bakla occupies refers to a state of mental confusion and undecidedness. This may be used to bear a linguistic affinity to the way Tagalog poet Francisco Balagtas used the word bakla in the context of a temporary lack of resolve, an emotional wavering in several scenes in at least two of his best known works, the romance Florante at Laura and the play Orosman at Zafira; later, prewar Tagalog writers used bakla to mean fearful and weakened.
Over 81 percent of citizens claim membership in the Roman Catholic Church, according to the official 2000 census data on religious preference.
